Fluorocarbons have been found to have many uses, for example the use of fluorocarbons, halofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons as refrigerants and propellants, halons (ie. chlorinated and/or brominated saturated fluorocarbons) as flame suppressants used in fire fighting and perfluorocarbon as foam blowing agents However, many of these useful fluorinated compounds have been found to be damaging to the environment, and/or to humans. The use and production of some fluorocarbons are now restricted or banned under international treaties.
Enormous stockpiles of halons, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other fluorocarbon pollutants exist internationally, and there is a need for techniques for their disposal.
Techniques for disposal of these fluorocarbon pollutants include destructive processes such as incineration and argon plasma destruction. Such processes are expensive to run, result in incomplete destruction of the fluorocarbons and produce compounds of no particular economic value. Plasma destruction is suitable for dilute concentrations of some fluorocarbons, but not for halons in view of their flame suppressive properties. Other proposed disposal processes include hydrolysis, steam reforming, dehalogenation and dehydrohalogenation. However, incineration remains the most widely adopted technology for fluorocarbon disposal.
Other processes have been proposed for conversion of fluorocarbon pollutants into compounds of economic value.
WO 99/07443 disclosed a method of conversion of halons 1301 (CF3Br) and 1211 (CFCl2Br) by reaction with methane to produce CF3H, CH3Br and a range of minor products.
Li, K., Kennedy, E. M., and Dlugogorski B. Z., Experimental and Computational Studies of the Pyrolysis of CBrF3, and the Reaction of CBrF3 with CH4, Chemical Engineering Science, 55 (2000) 4067-4078, compared theoretical and experimental reaction product profiles from the hydrodehalogenation reaction of halon 1301 with methane. The primary reaction product found was CHF3, with CH3Br and C2H2F2 produced in lesser quantities. The authors used the experimental results to refine the theoretical reaction modelling for the hydrodehalogenation reaction.